(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an armrest unit, and more particularly to an armrest unit having a decorative top plate with patterns simulating grains of wood so as to enhance the appearance and texture of the armrest.
(b) Description of the Prior Art
Office chairs generally have the chair structure as shown in FIG. 1 due to consideration of space and convenience. The chair C may or may not be provided with armrests A. The armrests A are injection molded from plastics and then locked to both sides of the chair C. Plastic injection molded armrests are widely used and competitive in the marketplace because they can be mass produced and inexpensive to manufacture as compared to metal and wooden armrests. However, plastic armrests are not so appealing in texture as wood armrests. Use of chairs with wooden armrests for offices will be very uneconomical because wood especially mahogany is very expensive. Besides, the strength of wooden armrests is not as good as that of plastic injection molded armrests.
Although some manufacturers have attempted to mold plastic armrests having natural wood grains to enhance their appearance and texture, since armrests have curvatures, it is very difficult to form wood grain patterns on the armrests during injection molding. As for use of transfer printing or other techniques to form wood grain patterns on the armrests, there are also difficulties or the quality of the resultant products are not satisfactory.